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Lincoln Kirstein

1941
Not on view
Artist Fidelma Cadmus married cultural impresario and cofounder of the New York City Ballet Lincoln Kirstein in 1941. This rather stern but lovingly detailed likeness of the handsome (and bisexual) Kirstein may commemorate the couple’s nuptials of that year. Showing him dressed formally, looking directly at the viewer, and with his lips slightly parted as if he is about to speak, the portrait suggests Kirstein’s privileged pedigree and commanding presence. The fine brush strokes describe fabric textures, skin wrinkles, and hair follicles with equal intensity, producing a mesmerizing clarity evocative of Renaissance portraiture. Two years after this portrait was made, Kirstein enlisted in the U.S. Army, for whom he played a role in the discovery of many important works of art looted by the Nazis.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lincoln Kirstein
  • Artist: Fidelma Cadmus Kirstein (American, 1906–1991)
  • Date: 1941
  • Medium: Egg tempera on panel
  • Dimensions: 11 7/8 × 9 3/8 in. (30.2 × 23.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: George A. Hearn Fund, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.207
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Self Portrait, Fidelma Cadmus Kirstein American, Egg tempera on panel
Self Portrait
Fidelma Cadmus Kirstein
1947
America Today, Thomas Hart Benton American, Ten panels: Egg tempera with oil glazing over Permalba on a gesso ground on linen mounted to wood panels with a honeycomb interior
America Today
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Wallowa Mountains Memory, Variation, Kay WalkingStick American and Citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Oil and gold leaf on wood panel
Wallowa Mountains Memory, Variation
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We crossed the River at McKonkey's Ferry 9 miles above Trenton ... the night was excessively severe ... which the men bore without the least murmur...-Tench Tilghman, 27 December 1776/Struggle Series - No. 10: Washington Crossing the Delaware, Jacob Lawrence American, Egg tempera on hardboard
We crossed the River at McKonkey's Ferry 9 miles above Trenton ... the night was excessively severe ... which the men bore without the least murmur...-Tench Tilghman, 27 December 1776/Struggle Series - No. 10: Washington Crossing the Delaware
Jacob Lawrence
1954
Black Abstraction, Georgia O'Keeffe American, Oil on canvas
Black Abstraction
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